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Jelena Jankovic wins title in claycourt Italian Open

Jelena Jankovic defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova to win the claycourt Italian Open title on Sunday and complete an amazing turnaround in fortune for the 22-year-old Serb who nearly quit tennis at the same tournament 12 months ago.

The third seed defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-1 for her third ATP title of the year, which will see her climb to fourth in the world rankings.

But one year ago Jankovic considered quitting the game after arriving in Rome on the back of a 10-match losing streak.

However, she turned her season and career around with three straight wins, before losing to Venus Williams in a three-set quarter-final.

Since then she has won 81 of her 108 matches to break into the top five and must fancy her chances at the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, which starts next Monday.

"One year ago I was about to quit, and it's amazing that I'm here now holding the trophy," Jankovic said after beating Kuznetsova, last year's French Open runner-up. "Rome was a turning point for me last year. That experience made me stronger."

Jankovic played down her chances of winning Roland Garros, but said anything was possible if she avoided world number one Justine Henin, to whom she has lost all five of their previous meetings, three of them on clay.

"When she's playing I always seem to be in her half of the draw," Jankovic said. "When I saw that she was not playing in Rome I was very happy indeed."

"I believe Justine is favorite for the French Open. She's won it three times, and is so tough to beat. But, you know, anything can happen," she said.

Jankovic, who won the WTA's Most Improved Player of the Year Award last year, said her movement was the key to defeating Kuznetsova.

"I have been playing better and better as the week went on and I came into the final feeling very positive," she said.

"I really moved well and that was the key. Svetlana hits the ball very hard, so I had to concentrate on my returns. She really is a great player on clay, so this is an unbelievable win for me," Jankovic said.

Defeat for second seed Kuznetsova, who was hoping to become the first Russian to win the Italian Open, extended her finals jinx this year to 0-4 after defeats at Doha, Indian Wells and Berlin.

US Open champion in 2004, Kuznetsova was disappointed with her performance after reaching the final without dropping a set.

"I'm a bit sad as I had been been playing well," Kuznetsova said.
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